


Folded Wishes

by Sakurucha



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Spoilers, saeran is a walking spoiler really tm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-31
Updated: 2016-09-01
Packaged: 2018-08-12 06:51:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7924801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sakurucha/pseuds/Sakurucha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>MC decides to help make one of Saeran’s wishes come true by folding a thousand cranes together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Side A

“The… hell is with all of these…” Saeran gingerly took one of the vivid paper squares between his index finger and thumb, idly tilting it to watch the metallic design shine.

Your cheeks rose with the excited smile upon your lips; you can’t help but let that excitement seep into your voice as well, your reply a bit louder than you intended. “Origami paper! I got as much as I could in as many colors and designs possible. Aren’t they nice?”

“Sure,” he replied, voice flat with sarcasm. He put down the square sheet and sighed, focusing his eyes upon you now. “So what, did you just… bring them to stare at..?”

He couldn’t help but admire your shy, breathy laugh before your excitement took the reins again. “No, no, of course not. Something better; we’re going to fold a thousand cranes!” 

A deadpan expression overtook his face, practically speaking the words for him: _Oh God, are you serious?_

Of course, you expected a reaction along those lines. Still, you felt your excitement replaced with embarrassment when pressed for an explanation; you knit your fingers together awkwardly, glancing away from him. “A while ago, I overheard you muttering to yourself about how you wished things would go your way just once in your life… so I thought about it, and when I heard about this, I… I thought that it would be perfect. There’s this tradition; if you fold a thousand cranes, your greatest wish will come true… and I wanted to help you do that.”

He sighed, his resignation leaving with that breath. “... Fine.” If you planned to fold those cranes with him, it meant you would spend more time at his side. That… was something he didn’t mind. 

“... Fine?” You repeated, not quite certain you heard him right.

Another sigh. “Pretty sure that’s what I said.”

Relief flashed in your eyes. You plucked both his hands from the floor, grip gentle and firm when lacing your fingers between his and giving his palms a little squeeze. You then brought your intertwined hands just in front of your chest, practically yanking him… and his face just inches away from you as you gleefully shook your hands up and down while speaking. “Ah..! This will be fun, I swear, and productive! You’re absolutely sure... right?” 

"If... it'll make you..." Happy, he wanted to say. _Happy_ , he knew he should say. That alone would bring the desired effect. Only five letters, two syllables. He couldn’t take it and tore his hands from yours, scrambling away from you and tucking his hands under his thighs. "... calm down." Not quite, Saeran. Enough syllables, too many letters.

Of course, he had never made a crane before, let alone any origami, so you sat beside him and patiently taught him, step-by-step. Dexterous as his fingers might be from all that hacking, he still fumbled with the delicately folded paper in his hands and stared at yours intently in his attempt to avoid any stupid mistakes.

“Hmm.” You watched his attempt at repeating the steps you just showed him. “Not quite, it’s like this…” Obliviously, you placed your hands atop his and guided them to where his mistakes were, along with showing him the proper motions to correct them before you handed him another piece of paper. “I brought plenty, so why don’t you try it again?”

He silently, mechanically took the paper from you and began folding again.

Why were your hands so warm? 

He shuddered just slightly as he made the first folds, remembering the feeling of your hands upon his just seconds ago. He could distinctly feel the difference between the natural cold of his hands and the radiating warmth from the exact places your hands touched--no, graced would be a better word. That comforting gentleness, expressing something--or was he just imagining that? Was he projecting his own feelings onto you?

The crane was about halfway folded now, his automatic movements slow and steady as his brain remained occupied with other thoughts.

Why did you watch him so intently like that, so eager to bring such a silly but, dare he say, _thoughtful_ idea to him? Was he now distorting even your eyes in his mind, imagining them trying to express that same thing he so desperately wanted to believe your hands tried to convey?

He was going mad… again. Probably. This couldn’t be sane.

“Perfect! Do you think you got the hang of it?” Your voice snapped him out of his trance; the crane in his hands was finished, and actually quite neatly done. “Gosh, yours looks even better than mine,” you whined, though it was laced with a giggle.

He sucked in a short breath, staring at you a moment before his eyes darted down to his crane. Why did you have to do this to him? No, he was… blaming you. Blaming someone else again. _Why did he have to feel this way_ , he corrected.

He continued to stare at his crane, the one that you complimented. Perfect. You called something that he created “perfect.” ...He could believe, right? 

“Yeah… I think so.” 

 

Saeran sat upon his bedside, as deep in thought as he was into his twentieth or so crane that evening. This whole project was ridiculous. His greatest… no, only motivator for continuing was the memory of your cheerful expression, so transparently eager to help him. The ghost of a smile tugged at his lips at the thought. It was not disdain for superstition or an intense pessimism towards hope and wish-fulfillment that made him consider the pointlessness of this, though. Rather, he didn’t need any wish to come true… because it seemed to him that his already had. 

This life… This happiness, he dare call it, with you and Saeyoung, despite those complicated feelings he felt for you… If he was allowed to have all of this and could feel this way without remorse… This was all he desired.

People who loved him; people who made him feel truly important, who brought _color_ to his otherwise bleak life.

People who gave him a reason to live, something he thought he could never have again.

But.

He wasn’t about to confess this to you any time soon.

 

It had been about a month since you first came to him with the stacks of colorful sheets. “Please, Saeran? We’ve almost made a thousand, so--ahmph!?”

He pressed a newly folded crane to your lips to silence you. “Don’t they say if you tell a wish… it… it won’t come true?”

He couldn’t afford to lose this one.

He loved you far too much.


	2. Side B

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because a thousand cranes aren't enough.

Some months ago, you had strung together the last of the thousand cranes you folded. The evidence of that hung from his wall, a rainbow of cranes to remind them of that several month long endeavor.   
Things had been going considerably well. True to his wish, you remained a presence in their lives, as attentive and caring as always. True to his wish, though his feelings were a bit burdensome when he became flustered with your innocent actions, they never proved to become a rift between you as you sustained what might be called a….  
Friendship?  
Is that what this was called?

What he didn’t understand, then, was why you continued to fold them. Admittedly, it was far fewer than before; no more than one every time he caught a glimpse of you passing time in the main room with that little task.  
One evening, he decided to ask the question on his mind.   
You sat on the sofa, waiting for him to return from his room. Though he stood against the doorway, about to call out to you, he waited a moment to watch you in your moment of concentration. Your hands diligently performed the last few steps to make a crane--steps that he knew all too well at this point--before you admired the small paper creature. He gave you a moment, or perhaps gave himself one to watch, before alerting you of his presence. 

“... More cranes?”

“Oh, Saeran!” You looked up at him from the crane, your eyes to him vibrant as always. “Yeah… I’ve gotten into the habit of folding one a day.”

Though it was such a plain statement, he swore there was a little shyness in your eyes. Your lids had narrowed just slightly, eyes glancing slightly to his side as a tinge of color darkened your cheeks. Then again, around him your cheeks often seemed to take a little color recently in the past few weeks.  
Were you getting sick?  
If you became seriously ill, then you wouldn’t be able to visit them often anymore… That was a painful thought. Even if a bit selfish.

He tilted his head to the side, sitting beside you and raising an eyebrow. “Why?” Though his question sounded as though it was for the crane, his mind--and his eyes--were now focused upon your cheeks.

You only answered the surface question. “Hmm, maybe it’s a force of habit now.” You laughed, slowly shaking your head. “No, I thought, if the act of folding the cranes is what manifests your wish, then maybe… if I keep folding these cranes, then the powers that be will continue to remember my wish, day by day, crane by crane. It’s a nice thought, don’t you think?” Your lips settled into a peaceful little smile, filled with all the hope and promise that he reluctantly let invade his thoughts.  
How could any woman be so selfless in her thinking? … Nevermind, this was you he was talking about. 

He fell silent, staring at the crane.   
It seemed impossible now to imagine a life without either you or Saeyoung… but especially you. Any semblance of happiness for him relied on this balance of people, people precious to him, always being present in his life.  
Could he really trust it all to stay this way, just because of a little wish? Thus far, things were going fine… but it hadn’t been that long. A year at best that you had known each other, but he often lost count of the days in recent times. There was no reason to keep track of them. Anyway, things could change with time. He… knew all too well how things could change, whether he desperately prayed or not.  
Sure, Saeyoung returned to him eventually, but...

“Saeran?” You tugged gently at his sleeve, an innocent little action that asked for, rather than demanded, his attention.

Without thinking, he decided to voice his concerns. “... Will things always be like this?”

“Hm?” You didn’t seem to understand. Fair enough.

Saeran took a deep breath, his eyes quivering just slightly as he looked at you. “Will you… always be here?”

He didn’t understand why you chuckled. He was quite serious. “Saeran, you and Saeyoung are very important to me. I don’t plan on going anywhere--I want nothing more than to stay here and watch the two of you be happy. I can’t do that if I leave, can I?”

_And Saeyoung_ , you reminded him with those words.

His eyes escaped yours, focusing instead on his own hands; powerless hands that could do nothing to bring you closer to him. He hadn’t the bravery to ask what your words meant for him alone… whether you thought of him any differently, like he hoped, or if he meant exactly the same as Saeyoung to you.  
Wishful thinking, all of it.  
Still, he reminded himself, he told himself that he would simply endure these feelings. There was no harm if he took no action… even if he meant nothing to you.

“Aren’t you… wasting time folding more cranes, though..? Does it really matter?”

You looked down at your own hands, whispering softly. “But, these cranes… I have my own wish, too.” 

Saeran glanced over at you again. He silently stared, waiting for you to continue. He feared, perhaps, your wish belonged to someone else… someone who wasn’t him. Morbid curiosity on his part forced him to listen.

“I think, really, that I want… you to be happy. I want to stay here with you and help you as much as I can, help you enjoy life so maybe, eventually, we could together without having to worry about the past. It isn’t something that can come true from just making a wish, but if I have the power to make that happen, then… I will. And if folding these cranes helps remind me of that wish and gives me the power to keep trying, then it’s not a waste of my time at all.” After you spoke, you looked over at him, a soft, affectionate look in your eyes. 

That look again; the one he swore he must have been misinterpreting. Your eyes spoke volumes, but whether that was for him, or for you...

He looked away. 

“Someday… Please be happy, Saeran.” You wrapped one of your hands around his, giving it a little squeeze.

He remained silent before speaking under his breath. “I… already think I am.”

Despite the pain of longing, his life truly had never been happier. He didn’t think to ask for more than this.


End file.
